Eating out blows.....sort of.

I had my first real challenge with going gluten-free today.  One of my biggest downfalls in my efforts to eat healthy in the past has been my love for eating out and eating whatever sounded good to me on the menu.  It didn't matter if I was on the strictest diet out there, I could never resist the menu and I somehow always ended up with the largest portion of the richest (a.k.a. fattiest) food on there.  I love anything deep fried, smothered in a cream sauce, or both - with lots of bread!

So today when I found myself out shopping with the family and my husband suggested Red Robin for lunch (which the kids instantly cheered at making it impossible for me to say no) I became instantly depressed.  I was sure I was going to end up with a limp salad with no dressing or, worse, a burger with no bun!  I immediately picked up my smart-phone and looked up Red Robin's website to check out the menu.  At first, I was frustrated because there was absolutely nothing on the menu that I could tell was gluten-free for sure, but I recognized a few substitutions I could make that might result in a decent meal.

When we arrived at the restaurant, it took me a while to settle on a grilled salmon burger with a lettuce "bun" and a side of steamed broccoli.  I felt this was a safe choice, but didn't ask the waitress to make sure my order was gluten-free when I placed it.  After placing my order, I decided to look a little closer at the Red Robin website and, low and behold, after clicking on the "Food" link, I saw a "Allergen Information" link in the bottom right corner.  It wasn't even hidden or anything!  I clicked on that and the first section included a link to their gluten/wheat free menu which listed items on the regular menu that were gluten free (basically salads without the dressing) plus suggestions for substitutions that can be made to menu items that make them gluten free.  I found the the sandwich I had ordered and discovered that it had gluten in the sauce! We quickly flagged down the waitress and asked her to hold the sauce and bring a side of mayo instead.  All of this took about 3-4 minutes.

When my meal arrived, I was a little hesitant at first.  Grilled salmon wrapped in lettuce with tomato?  And a side of broccoli?  Not that I don't like those things - I'd actually eat them in a heartbeat just about anywhere else - but seeing them on my plate in a restaurant was a whole other story.  Where were my onion rings and my hamburger (on a bun thank you very much!) with deep fried something on top?  And what happened to my cup of clam chowder and my cheese sticks?  (Note: I would rarely, if ever, order that much food at one meal, but you get the point).  But after smearing a little mayo on the salmon and taking a few bites, I found it to be actually not all that bad!  And it was about as balanced and healthy of a meal as you can possible find at Red Robin - or pretty much anywhere.

I guess what I'm saying is that, it's not easy making large life style changes, but having a positive attitude and focusing on my goals is a good start.  Thinking outside of the box doesn't hurt either.  I know it's cheesy, but you can't argue that it isn't true!

Gloriously gluten-free? Not yet, but maybe someday.

The title of this blog is a bit of hopeful thinking on my part.  You see, I was just diagnosed with Celiac Disease on Tuesday.  If you're not sure what Celiac disease* is, it's a hereditary condition that affects aprox. 1 in 133 Americans and people lucky enough to inherit the gene for this condition are intolerant to gluten.  Gluten is in wheat, barley and rye grains and is found in a wide variety of foods - from bread to soy sauce.

You can imagine that for most people, the news that they can't ever eat wheat products again would be difficult to swallow (no pun intended).  It's bad enough that I can't eat most of my favorite foods anymore - at least not in the same way.  Although somewhat difficult to find, there are gluten-free substitutes for most things on the market, but they just aren't the same.  So I've spent the last couple of days in mourning for the foods I'll never eat again - Cinnabons, Papa Murphy's pizza, flour tortillas, Lucky Charms, graham crackers, Krispy Kreme donuts (or any donuts), gyros, and the list goes on.  As corny as it sounds though, I believe that everything happens for a reason and, as my husband said after we found out, "great things come from adversity."

So where's my silver lining?  Well, I am, what most people would call, a food addict.  I use food as a mechanism for relieving stress and boredom.  I think about food constantly and I'll eat whether I'm hungry or not if there is food available to me.  I'm not grossly overweight - only about 35 pounds - but I've struggled with my addiction to food for the past several years and food has won out more often than not.  I try to eat in moderation (which is the sole reason I'm not 100+ lbs overweight), but I just absolutely love food in all of it's forms and I'm not picky or even careful about what I eat.  Or at least I didn't used to be.  Now I don't have a choice but to be picky about what I eat.  Which sucks.  Hard.  But, it's probably exactly what I needed in order to get my diet more under control and find healthier ways to deal with stress than stuffing my mouth full of food.

I also count it as a blessing that at least I now know why I was feeling sick all of the time and I have a way to fix it.  There is really nothing worse than feeling sick and not knowing why or how to make yourself feel better.  I was struggling with frequent headaches and migraines, major fatigue, nausea, bloating, stomach pains, diarrhea, and general weakness for a few months.  I feel optimistic now that I will start feeling better.

So although "gluten-free" isn't something I would refer to as "glorious" at this point, I'm hopeful that it will be in the future.  I mean, how glorious would it be if I developed better eating habits, learned to deal with my stress in more constructive ways and lost some weight as a result?  That sounds pretty glorious to me.

*For more information about Celiac disease and gluten intolerance, visit http://www.celiac.com/