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I have been gluten free for well over 5 years now and am overly cautious when it comes to eating foods I did not prepare myself.  However, as I am sure many of you know it is still a challenge and sometimes, no matter how diligent you are, gluten sneaks in – gasp!  Let’s face it isolating gluten components from packing is not as easy as some think because you need to be very well versed in some of the more non-traditional way gluten can sneak in.

That's right, yours truly had a minor run in the other day and I will be the first to say it was my fault.  I always read product packaging as though it were an exciting novel -- so when you see the guy in the market staring intently at a box, that's me.

For my little brunch party the other day I was perusing the aisles of my favorite gourmet shop and stumbled across a glorious pile of French chocolate truffles.  So, I picked up the box and read the ingredients.  Unfortunately a “replacement label” in English had been plastered over the original French and other European languages citing the ingredients.  Having lived in France I would have preferred to just read the original labeling but looked at the translation and it seemed to be just fine.

Alas, things are not always what they seem.  After my splendid brunch we retired to the living room and I thought what better way to cap off the day that with the truffles – and they were FABULOUS.  However, as I was letting the delicate chocolate morsel melt in my mouth I noticed a bit of a more solid texture.  Curious I thought.  Perhaps some crystallization of the sugar?
I went back to the kitchen and looked at the package, this time peeling off the English overlay and there it was…wheat gluten.  Damn!  Well, thankfully I did not have a bad reaction but even after all this time being gluten free it reinforced that you can never be lax and need to question everything.  Oh well, lesson learned.  I am just sad because the chocolate was to die for and such a shame it was not GF.
 
 
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I love food.  There, I said it.  As much as I would love to take a long lunch hour and have a proper meal it is just not going to happen.  Alas, my lunch is most often spent in my office with the door partially closed, noshing away on something I ordered from Seamless Web.  For those of you unfamiliar with Seamless Web it is an online ordering service that allows you to peruse and order from restaurants in your area that deliver to your location.  It is my best friend come lunchtime and if it is in you city it is worth checking out.

However, today I am being relatively good and brought my lunch from home (a rarity).  Since I had my little soiree last night I made a trip to my favorite little gourmet market that is always full of wonderful European specialties.  Yesterday I snagged real Fanta (not the bright orange U.S. version) along with some delectable house made chicken salad.  Well, I spent the time prepping for my guest's arrival noshing on all of the snacks I put out so my chicken salad languished in the refrigerator.  This morning I noticed it looking back at me from the shelve.

So I packed the chicken salad along with a few corn tortillas and some cheese into a little bag and it is now sitting in my office refrigerator until lunch.  If you have not tried corn tortillas as a bread replacement please do.  You just need to warm them in the over (wrapped in foil) or pop them into the microwave wrapped in a slightly dampened paper towel.  This will make them wonderfully warm and pliable -- much easier to work with.

This afternoon I will make little soft tacos, if you will, filled with chicken salad and a bit of cheese.  So looking forward to it.
 
 
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Greetings fellow Celiacs.  I wanted to have a medium to convey my daily musings and experiences living gluten free and also hear what's on your minds.  Whether it is a delicious gluten free lunch I pick up at the office or throwing a dinner party for some of my non-celiac friends -- here you can follow my journey to gluten free fabulousness and hopefully pick up some helpful tips that can help you on your own journey.

It is going to be a fantastic journey that I look forward to sharing with all of you.  So don't be shy and let me know what you think and what you find out there in the gluten free world.

Remember, it is all about Living Well Gluten Free.