Gluten free on the go

Day five of our new gluten free life was pretty eventful for both of us. I was glutenized in my "safe" house and Alex successfully spent the night at a friend's house and managed to not be glutenized.

As I mentioned before, I don't know if it was the pizza stones or the book, so as of tomorrow both are out of the house. I just can't take the chance that it happens again.

Alex, however, was the master of being a gracious gluten free guest. Here is what happened.

Right before lunch, Alex and Ethan's friend asked if they could spend the night. Of course, they were leaving soon so I had to think fast.

I cooked a box of De Boles Rice penne and tossed as much as I thought he would eat in with some leftover homemade pasta sauce from the fridge.

Six corn tortillas, 1 cup refried beans (in the fridge from home made pinto beans from earlier in the week), shredded lettuce and shredded cheddar cheese gave him enough food for six bean burritos.

A bag of baked Tostito corn chips for a snack and a bag of cinnamon Chex for breakfast rounded out his stash, and it all fit nicely in to a cooler bag. I sent more food than I thought he would need because I would rather waste food - yes, even the $4lb rice pasta - than have him hungry and put in a position to either make the wrong choices or go hungry.

As of right now, we have a rule that Alex does not eat anything unless it came from home or he calls me and confirms that it is gluten free. Eventually, he will get to the point that he doesn't have to call, but it is so new to us (and I am so paranoid) that this is what we are comfortable with. Ultimately, the responsibility to adhere to the diet falls in Alex's lap. We can give him all of the tools ("safe" food, education, pep talks, commiseration) but in the end, he is the one who controls what goes into his mouth. The fact of the matter is that when you have celiac disease your life changes forever. You can no longer just blindly stuff food in to your mouth. You must be willing to stand up for yourself and not be afraid to offend people who are trying to feed you. Eating even the smallest (less than 1/8 teaspoon) of gluten can have painful and unhealthy consequences.

Ethan - who would love nothing more than to rat out his brother - reported that Alex didn't eat anything that wasn't in his bag. I am so proud of him!

Tomorrow, I will tell you how we (hopefully) successfully handled a Christmas party that I am sure will be a gluten filled mine field.

(Please excuse the horrible pictures. He was trying to walk out the door and I was lucky to get what I got!)