Tale of Woe

My church gave a dinner for everyone involved in any ministry this fall. As I am involved in several (AWANA, Choir, Missions, Prayer Quilts, Nursery, Operation Christmas Child Coordinator) that meant they intended for me to be there.

I spoke with the "chef" and thought everything was going to be OK. He really went out of his way to accommodate me. He cooked the fish for my fish taco separately and first so as to avoid cross-contamination (my food being contaminated with the gluten in the breading on everyone else's fish.) He with-held the ramen from my salad.

But alas, it must have been the dressing (the ingredients of which were written in Spanish!) because I spent most of the week feeling less than stellar.

I believe these events will be held again and again, but most likely without me.

Sigh.

Tales of Victory - Tales of Woe

For those of you with dietary restrictions, this will seem all too common place. For those of you who have no such problems, and don't have any close friends or relatives who do, you will wonder what all the fuss is about.

Gluten intolerance is actually very common - probably more so than anyone actually realizes. Many digestive woes are very likely undiagnosed gluten intolerance.

So what the heck is gluten and why is is such a big deal?

Gluten is a protein found mostly in wheat, and to a lesser extent oats and barley. Wheat has actually been bred to produce more of the stuff. The word comes from the Latin for "glue" and gluten is responsible for holding baked goods together.

When a person develops - or is even born with - an intolerance to gluten, any number of digestive unpleasantries can happen. Some are merely uncomfortable. Some are life-threatening. Most are somewhere in between.

Unfortunately, companies that produce the food that America eats toss the stuff in just about everything where you would least expect it. Soups. Dressings. RICE cereal. CORN cereal. condiments. SOY sauce. Flavorings. Marinades. And on and on and on.

This blog will tell of my successes (Tales of Victory) and failures (Tales of Woe) as I learn to navigate a national food system designed for other people.