(Written by Susan)
Day 6
Another morning and another bowl of Chex with Craisins filled my belly. This morning, however, I was hungry by 10:15 and decided to have some popcorn. For lunch, I had leftover ham and potato soup with a couple of dinner rolls. This soup is great the first time around and it is even more delicious the second time around. For a snack I had some grapes to satisfy my cravings for something sweet.

I decided to try a new recipe for pizza crust using my bread machine. The dough came out extremely sticky, but I managed to roll it out and shape it into thin circles. After baking the crust, it turned out crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside. The crust had a rice flavor to it, but Greg and I agreed that it tasted pretty good. Ryan on the other hand did not like the new crust. He did not want to eat the new pizza and begged for his old pizza. The crust he loves has oregano, garlic and basil in it. Next time I will add these ingredients to my mix and see if Ryan can be persuaded to like it. The day would not be complete without trail mix, so of course, I just HAD to have some after dinner.

Next we headed to Wegmans and Sam’s Club to buy some groceries. This was by far the most difficult part of my week. Until now, I had been surrounded by foods that were safe to eat and I did not have too many temptations near by. If you have not experienced Wegmans baked goods before, you are missing out on some of the most delicious breads and sweet treats. Unfortunately all of them contain gluten. So we went into the store to pick up some fruit and gluten free items, both of which are located just to the right of the bakery. The sweet aromas were so tempting. I refused to let my eyes even look at the baked goods. Ryan did not seem the least bit bothered by the bakery section, thank goodness. Next was Sam’s Club, which also has a bakery section. We walked right past the cakes to get to the food items we were looking for. As we were passing by Ryan said, “Mom, that strawberry cake looks delicious!” It broke my heart to see all that food that Ryan could not eat and possibly never be able to eat. I never realized how difficult it must be for someone with food allergies to even go to the grocery store.

Ryan’s situation is a little different from a lot of people who have Celiac disease. He was diagnosed at such a young age, that he has almost exclusively experienced gluten free foods. Ryan is so accustomed to his food that he does not even seem to be tempted by foods containing wheat. I have noticed that Ryan had found comfort in the fact that his food was only for him and no one else. I do feel a little guilty this week for taking this away from him. However, I think the benefit of this experience has been worth it. Greg and I would like to try to cook only gluten free meals now. It has felt so good this week to have only gluten free foods on our dinner table. There was no separate bread or butter for mommy and daddy which could not come in contact with Ryan’s food. Also, I did not have to cook separate foods such as pizza for Greg and me and a separate pizza for Ryan. I feel like our family has been united at the dinner table, which is very satisfying.

Tags: Food Allergies, Gluten Free

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