The time has come, the walrus said, to talk of...crouton crumbs?

I had already decided yesterday that today would be the inaugural gluten free grocery shop. I knew I'd feel better once I had pasta I could eat in the apartment. And something happened this morning that cemented that desire. I was checking out the Celiac support group that my boss had mentioned, and I found their page with gluten free restaurant menus. "Awesome!" I thought - I can still eat at Bravo, etc. But then I saw this paragraph in the tips on the side:

"Salad: REQUEST that no croutons, breadsticks or crackers be placed on or near your plate. Ideally, your dining companions will request no croutons as well so that a crouton does not accidentally get bumped onto your salad from an overloaded serving tray on the way to your table."

In case you're not getting my emphasis there, the crumbs from one crouton getting on my salad could cause me harm. It seemed extreme, until I actually paid attention to what I'd already read above. Celiac is not an allergy - it's an autoimmune disease. That part I didn't know - see previous posts on my unsympathetic, brusque doctor. Any time gluten enters my body, it's basically going Leonidis on the villi in my small intestine. It keeps me from absorbing nutrients, and can lead to a whole host of other problems. At this point, knowing I'll be living in fear of stinking crouton crumbs, I became a little depressed. So I decided it was definitely time to go grab some gluten free goodies.

I'm not going to tell you what I spent. Everyone should get to experience that particular heart attack on their own. Some of the things were on sale, though, and I got a relatively decent price on gas. I've got some gluten free sandwich cookies, bread, rice pasta, quinoa pasta, pretzels, and a few other random items. So far, the only thing I've tried is the bread. It's Schar brand, for whatever that may mean to anyone. The texture isn't the best (a bit thick/dry), and it falls apart easily. Although in fairness to the bread, I did put about three inches of meat and veggies between it. I tend to strain sandwiches. It's not horrible though. I'll keep you updated once I've actually tried the rest.

Bottom line? I was right - knowing that I have so many more gluten free foods available in my apartment does make me feel better. Of course, the Crock Pot full of chili doesn't hurt either...


Update: I tried the snacks. The verdict is:

• Blue Diamond Almond Nut Thins - Hint of Sea Salt: taste a bit like sesame crackers. Good, but I missed something on the label when I bought them. They're processed in a facility that processes wheat products. There may be cross contamination. I might donate these to Mike, given that his gluten free diet is optional.
• Glutino pretzel twists: AMAZING! I even like these better than regular pretzels. And the hubby, who is a huge pretzel fan, likes them as much as I do. These are also milk, casein, and egg free.
• KinniTOOS vanilla sandwich creme cookies: the cookie portion is a little crispier than you'd expect, but otherwise they taste pretty much the same. These are also dairy & nut free.