Friday, August 19, 2011

5 days of being gluten-free and all I have left is an empty wallet.

5 days is probably not long enough but it was like eternity to the hubby. He didn't kick or scream through the process, but he did make me feel bad about the bread situation.
He hated every kind of bread I brought to him. Being without a bread-maker I had to resort to buying gluten-free bread. Have you ever seen how expensive it is? $4 to $6 a loaf? With a product that isn't totally complete, you sure do pay an arm and a leg. I think my loaf is still on layaway at Whole Foods.  And let's face it, gluten is what makes bread so yummy. It holds it all together- the glue if you will. It keeps it moist and wheat works as a preservative. Gluten-free breads must stay frozen or eaten very quickly because it will spoil faster than you can say "spoil" or "this sucks".
Rick has worked most of this week and needs sustenance when he works. He needs calories and some fat and salt because of the conditions he works in. The biggest challenge, aside from the money issue.. issue being we don't really have any... was eating at work without his beloved pb&j falling apart. The gluten-free bread is already very flaky so if add wet peanut butter and jelly to it you have mush. He doesn't have a freezer, refrigerator, or decent cooler for work (he used to have a really nice cooler and we lent it to someone and in turn they threw it away.. nice).
With all of the money I spent on gluten-free products I could have bought him a new cooler.
So, we're stuck with foods that won't spoil while he works in the heat.
There's a job prospect coming up any day now (we'll find out if he got it) and they have a fridge, freezer, and even lockers! I know right?! That will help out a whole lot.
But 5 days wasn't long enough. In our experiment, he ended up feeling worse and more hungry. And the hunger just made his stomach pains worse. We're thinking we should have waited to try out this experiment until he was able to have proper lunch food. But we did it because that's what I do.. I jump into these things, catching him off guard because that's the only way to do it.
With his symptoms getting worse and not better during the week, we thought it was a good idea to start looking into other ideas. He's going to see his doctor soon and maybe get a food allergy test. We have one of the best allergy testing programs here in Colorado that's actually one of the best in the nation so I'm hoping he goes there. There, they can test him for egg, nut, and other allergies. He says as a child he was allergic to eggs, so I don't know. You never know!
If we have to we'll revisit the gluten-free diet we definitely will. For now, we have to look at other alternatives. Which sucks. But I have to pay attention to how his body reacts.
Speaking of reactions.. here are some of the products we tried.. I'll start with what he liked:
I made these exactly to the directions and they turned out looking like this:
Very dry and crumbly but really tasted like a real chocolate chip cookie. And they promote that they have a shit ton of dark chocolate chips in it and they really do! Was definitely impressed with these. 
I think he and I both liked every gluten-free option we could find from Amy's. 
The Udi's brand is pretty outstanding. The granola was probably his biggest favorite. He loves it with yogurt in the morning. 

Except for the bread. Hubby HATED HATED HATED the Udi's bread.. okay wait that wasn't even the same brand it was this kind:
DOH! Just added an "R" there. Food is confusing ya'll. 
I went a few days thinking I was buying "Udi's" bread. 
In all seriousness, he actually called this particular bread "palatable". I'm thinking he's using fancy words now because of our overwatching of "MasterChef". 
He really liked this cereal. They probably didn't even need to add the "gluten free" label because I thought it was already GF for like..forever? Maybe not. I dunno. This food stuff is confusing ya'll. 
The kids ate this and they liked it. I secretly thought it tasted like mushy pasta water. Very strange. 
An online forum suggested we try this kind instead.. quinoa pasta. Haven't tried it yet and if I said I wasn't at least a little nervous about it I'd be lying. The price tag is anxiety-inducing though. 
Now this 5 pack of beauties....   

I love food. I eat pretty much anything and I don't complain. Especially if I'm eating it because I'm hungry. This? was completely disgusting. New York should be pissed. I toasted it lightly and put a decent amount of cream cheese on it and the spongy-custardy texture and "off" taste couldn't be hidden. I actually had the aftertaste for a while. Even my coffee couldn't hide it. 
Thankfully, Rick never tried these or he would probably have died. Not to be too dramatic. 

Whatever is left I'm gobbling up. Even if I have to do it on my own. Just not those bagels though. Maybe the ducks and geese will eat them. Or maybe not. 

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