7742 Campus View Dr West Jordan, UT 84084-5838 – (801) 280-4074
GLUTEN FREE WAFFLES!!!
They are so good. Kind of a cornbread flavor.
Disjointed August 13, 2009
It’s been so long since I added a new post I feel like I am going to explode. I’ll try not to trip over myself as I jump from item to item.
Sleep Apnea, Insomnia, and Narcolepsy, Oh-my!
First, that lack of energy I’ve been feeling for a while that makes me sleep more hours than my baby; well it turns out it might be some kind of sleep disorder. I’ve worn the Oxygen monitor and slept in the just-try-and-sleep-with-all-these-wires-glued-to-your-head bed and waited a week and called my doctor and they “just got the test results this morning and we haven’t had time to review them.” Okay, I said, call me as soon as you review them. That was days ago, and in the meantime I’m supposed to take an anti-depressant that makes me super sick just so I don’t fall asleep in the afternoon. I’m a bit frustrated.
Disaster at the Outback Steakhouse
Second, C. and I went to the Outback restaurant to celebrate a special occasion. Let me warn you that if it is not on their GF menu, it is NOT Gluten Free. Our waiter made the mistake of telling us that because the Thunder Brownie is on the GF menu, the Thunder Brownie Drink was also GF. That was a big fat LIE of ignorance. It must be cross-contaminated the way it is made because it made C. sick. Also, despite the fact that C. ordered a GF meal, without the sauce (as specified on the GF menu), and the waiter claims to have punched in GF twice when he put in our order, the gluten-sauce still came out on C.’s plate, spilling over the sides of the cup onto his meat. And the waiter, to my astonishment, just picked up the sauce cup like that made it all better. He must have admitted the mistake to his manager when we started trying to clean the sauce off C.’s plate with one of their good napkins. The manager was very nice. She had her staff prepare another entree for C. But by the time it came out, I had finished my meal, which would have been cold if C. hadn’t insisted I eat it.
Read Any Good Books Lately?
As a matter of fact, yes I have. I am just finishing the Enola Holmes series. It’s considered teen fiction. I consider it grown-up without being vulgar. It has a definite feminist undercurrent, not to the detriment of the novels. All preaching regarding a woman’s place is done in character by the characters themselves.
I’ve also read How to Write a D*** Good Mystery Novel by James N. Frey (rhymes with guy). In it he talks about writing a journal entry in the voice of your character to understand their motivations better. His workbook heroine was sentenced to hard time for a crime she didn’t commit, on the testimony of her boyfriend who got a plea deal for his testimony against her. In prison she found a higher power, and is trying to live a peaceful life. In the journal entry she tell us what she would do if she ever ran into her x-boyfriend again. She answered honestly that she didn’t know what would happen and she hopes to never find out. I was amazed by how well Frey knew his characters limitations and I plan to use many of his techniques in my own writing.
Another Personal Note
This time about living arrangements. I am still with the in-laws, but there is an end in site. Recently we took our house off the market. We are in the middle of a refinance. And once we do, we should be financially capable of paying for food again instead of spending all our money on credit card debt. I admit I have mixed feelings about this. I’m going to miss living with my Mother-in-law. Unlike the stereotype, she and my husband have very similar personalities so we get along swell. And it’s nice to have her offer to spend 10-20 minutes with the baby while I fold laundry or take a shower.
Pro Term Limits
Also, I heard someone, I’m almost positive it was Dave Ramsey, on the radio say that the only way to get the Fair Tax Passed is to get Term Limits passed first. I am so ready for tax reform. I hate April 15th. So now I’m pro Term Limits. I hope you will be too. We so badly need tax reform.
Social Poverty & My 22-cents on Nationalized Health Care
So we got a letter from the Social Security office letting us know that for every $1.00 we are contributing to Social Security, we can expect to get $0.78 back. How about I let the govm’t just take the $0.22 cents now and let me invest my $0.78 in my Savings Account at 0.5% interest and at least I’ll have made my 22 cents back in 50 years. I could use that money when I am 80.
My grandmother attended a centenarian celebration at the state capitol and I plan to attend one there, too. Hopefully without Nationalized Helath Care, because if I cannot trust the government with a $1 for 30-odd years, how can I trust them with my health?
Cafe Rio – Gluten Free Update April 25, 2009
Perhaps you like to eat at Cafe Rio. They do not have a gluten free menu. But many of their ingredients are GF. If you are on the Gluten Free Diet please be aware. The following meats now contain gluten:
No, No’s:
- Beef
- Chicken
- Pork
- Shrimp
The broth in which they cook the Beef, Chicken, and Pork contains wheat. The Shrimp is coated with flour.
The following Meats are safe on the GF Diet.
Gluten Free Meats at Cafe Rio:
- Grilled Chicken
- Grilled Steak
- Mahi Mahi
- Salmon
The following ingredients are gluten free: Beans (Pinto or Black), Rice, Lettuce, Cilantro, Pico (can easily be cross contaminated), Guacamole, Limes, Vinaigrette Dressing.
I hope you found this information helpful.
Gluten Free Words of Wisdom April 18, 2009
Warning to my GF readers, something at Cafe Rio is no longer Gluten Free. My husband can usually order the Pork Salad, with rice, pinto beans, lettuce, pico, guacamole, vinaigrette dressing, no tortilla, no chips, and no cheese, and be fine. But last night something contained gluten, not cross-contamination, but actual gluten, and he has been hating life today.
It made me really grateful for the Word of Wisdom.
The Word of Wisdom is a health code followed by practicing members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Days Saints (LDS, or Mormons). That is why church members don’t drink tea, coffee, or alcohol, smoke tobacco, or do drugs.
The Church teaches: “When people purposefully take anything harmful into their bodies, they are not living in harmony with the Word of Wisdom.” (source)
I had a mission companion who had an interesting way of teaching this concept to investigators. She would explain that if a person was allergic to strawberries or pineapple, eating them would be against the Word of Wisdom. I think it helped people investigating the church see we weren’t just asking them to give up their coffee or beer.
Treating our bodies like the amazing gift they are, and keeping them free of harmful substances, helps us grow closer to God. And following the Gluten Free Diet is as important as keeping any other part of the Word of Wisdom for those with Celiac Disease.
Followers of the Word of Wisdom will be blessed by God for their obedience, whether or not they are members of the LDS church. To those who keep the Word of Wisdom, the Lord promised:
“All saints who remember to keep and do these sayings, walking in obedience to the commandments, shall receive health in their navel and marrow to their bones;
“And shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures;
“And shall run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint.
“And I, the Lord, give unto them a promise, that the destroying angel shall pass by them, as the children of Israel, and not slay them” (D&C 89:18–21).
I am so grateful for the blessing of good health that my husband has enjoyed since being diagnosed with Celiac Disease and committing to follow the Gluten Free Diet. Especially on days like today when he is accidentally exposed to gluten, I see how following the Word of Wisdom, and the Gluten Free Diet has blessed our lives.
If you have Celiac Disease and are on the fence about following a Gluten Free Diet, I hope my words have given you hope for a healthier life. Please feel free to leave me a comment.
No Longer Gluten Free March 9, 2009
The following products are no longer gluten free:
- Prego Spaghetti Sauce
- Swanson Broth
Both of these products, manufactured by Campbell’s, are now cross-contaminated during the production process.
Also, Madeline’s Steakhouse in South Jordan, UT no longer offers a gluten-free menu. They claim the server will be able to advise you on what is and what is not gluten-free, but our server brought us salad with croutons on top so I don’t trust their claim. You can still find their old GF menu online.
GF Airport Meals October 22, 2008
My husband C. was diagnosed with Celiac Sprue in September of 2007 while we were pregnant with our first child. We’ve been following the Gluten Free (GF) Diet ever since.
So my husband C., my baby M., and I recently vacationed on St. Simons Island, Georgia. Trying to find a GF bite to eat in the MSP Airport was nightmarish.
Anyone who has ever followed a GF diet knows that your choices are extremely limited. In a nut shell, living GF means no Wheat, Rye, Barley, or Oats, or anything that is made with ingredients derived from those grains. My husband planned to make himself a couple sandwiches to take in his carry on, but as it happens, he forgot. So the Carl Budding lunch meat (no wheat based ingredients) and the Great Value sliced cheese (labeled GF) got to chill in the fridge while my husband, tired and hungry from a long flight, set out to find himself a GF meal in one of the terminals.
Chili’s is a nationwide restaurant that boasts a GF menu. That seemed like the best bet at GF food in the Airport, but we were under a time constraint to board our connecting flight. We did not have the time to wait for a table, so we checked out the To Go selection and found one possibility…but would it be gluten free?
We asked the hostess for the GF menu, but she didn’t know what it was, so we asked for the manager, but he had just left on his 15-minute break! Would we be rewarded for our wait? We stuck around for 10 minutes before the hostess managed to unearth a copy of the GF Menu from the back kitchen. C. was able to buy the GF Chicken Cesar Salad from the To Go Kiosk and make our flight. One catastrophe averted, but another in the wings.
During our 90-minute layover on the way back home my husband left his GF Sandwich on the first plane. Shouldn’t have been a problem right? We’d just head over to Chili’s To Go and pick up another GF Chicken Ceasar Salad. But wouldn’t you know, instead of sealing the crouton’s in a nice condiment container away from the salad, the croutons were spread throughout the salad, cross-contaminating the last one on the shelf. And because we were flying so late, the Chili’s restaurant was closed. C.’s dinner consisted of Lay’s Classic Potato Chips from the vending machine.
You might not think that missing a meal would hurt a grown man, but would it be so hard for Chili’s to make it company policy that croutons are to be packaged in a condiment container in To Go Orders? I don’t think so. Besides being more GF Friendly, they would make non-celiac crouton-haters (like me!) happy too. I am contacting them to tell them so.
If you agree with me and would like to back me up, you can email Chili’s or call them at 1-800-983-4637, Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM Central Time. Please Be Nice. You catch more flies with honey.
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