Farewell to a Good Friend I hardly knew

In the summer, my brother developed a severe allergy to peanuts/nuts while walking home from work. This brought on a conversation about foods that we would never want to be allergic to or foods we could not live without. My brother said that he could not go without cheese, my mom could not go without bread and I could not go without peanut butter. I thought my answer was the best, I mean, peanut butter is just so good. You can eat it on icecream, apples, bananas, graham crackers, bread, cake, smores, and you can make cookies, squares etc. You can even eat it plain out of the jar. It just made sense.

A couple weeks ago I was waiting for results of a food allergy/sensitivity test I was recommended to take. I nervously thought that it might be peanut butter or maybe even icecream and dairy products in general. When I was told the results, I was so relieved that I was not allergic to dairy or nuts that I didn't really think about how my food sensitivity was much worse than being allergic to dairy and peanut butter.

Gluten... I don't even think I knew what it was a couple weeks ago but now I'd do anything to be reacquainted with it. Gluten is pretty much in everything. You name it, gluten is in it. Breads, pastries, noodles, flour.... everything. Not only do I have a sensitivity to gluten but I have a sensitivity to wheat, rye, barley, cucumbers, pineapple, almonds, coffee and beer. I was so happy I was not allergic to icecream but yet many of the icecream flavours i can no longer eat because they have brownies, cookies, or other scrumptious things mixed in. I can have peanut butter but I can't have it on a sandwich any more or in a brownie sundae. I just can't win! I feel like I can't eat anything.

I've been gluten free for almost 2 weeks and it has been painful. I feel like I'm always hungry because I'm living off vegetables and rice cakes. I walk down the aisles in the grocery store and pass all the food I can't eat. I have to look in the gluten free section and buy the 7 dollar spongelike gluten free pizza crust or the hard, crackly gluten free tortilla shells that fall apart when you try to roll them. Not many options here.

I've decided it's a hard time of year to be gluten free. Christmas parties with amazing deserts packed full of flour and almonds, cheese and crackers with dip, oven baked pastries and mini sausages in bbq sauce, Christmas beer alongside friendship cheer... and all I can eat is the cheese and the lowly rice krispie treat that has been abandoned by all but the gluten intolerant ones. Kids handing out birthday doughnuts in the hallway, parents bringing in holiday treats to share, hot lunch days of noodles and pizza at school and the gluten intolerant have to stand aside and say "No, thanks." Sigh....

Goodbye good friend. It's so hard to say goodbye. I wish we had had more time together. Maybe one day....when everything is right again...