I don’t know what it is but lately I have become increasingly frustrated with the seemingly endless number of articles that are placing a gluten-free diet back in the fad column.  I am not going to even call out any of the articles because chances are you already saw them and that is not what this post is about.  Every time I see one of those articles or some “C-lebrity” signs-on to the “craze” it always makes me wonder…Why on earth would you go gluten-free if you didn’t have to?  Again, that’s not what this post is about because it’s been discussed ad nauseum (though I still do ponder this question often).  So then is this post about you ask?

Well, as you likely know, I am always about excess and looking at gluten-free from a more luxury-focused point of view but sometimes it’s the most simple of everyday luxuries that make the biggest impact.  You see, on a recent business trip a few months ago I found myself in Dallas.  I found several really fantastic gluten-free locales that I will share in a future post but perhaps my most favorite meal was at Subway. 

Yes, you read that right – the sandwich chain (its Texas locations feature GF rolls).  You see it was a luxury for me to 1) walk into a major chain; 2) actually queue-up with a line of people; 3) be able to order off of the “normal” menu; 4) feel like the manager who came out to make my sandwich was looking out for me (and had been trained); and 5) actually sit down with everyone else, unwrap my sandwich, and enjoy a casual lunch.

Actually, to be completely honest I teared-up a bit when I unwrapped my sandwich and could not stop talking to people about it afterwards.  I know that most people were like, great, you ate at a Subway – here’s your medal.  But it was so much more you see.  It was a luxury.  A true honest to goodness unplanned  luxury that I do not get to experience very often.  Those of you that follow me know that I am all about doing what I want, when I want, and I never let Celiac have control over my lifestyle (but it definitely is something I always have to consider when out and about).  Yet, somehow, walking into a rather nondescript Subway in downtown Dallas became one of my most memorable meals of 2012.  It’s funny how something so simple that I took for granted the majority of my life in my pre-diagnosis days could actually now become so very important.

Oh, and for those of you who are wondering, I had a BLT with mayo and a bag of chips.