Fail to plan, plan to fail

My reaction to gluten seems to be evolving. It used to be throat swelling, now it's burning nauseous pain in my stomach. I think I'd rather have the throat swelling- it doesn't last as long and isn't as painful.

Last night we were coming home from a conference we attended, and ended up with a limited number of choices for dinner. I'd planned on Chipotle, but neglected to make sure that there actually was one in the area. Since there wasn't, I pulled out my blackberry pearl and did a quick search for gluten free options at Ruby Tuesday and Applebees, the only restaurant options available. Both restaurants had very limited options, so we picked Applebees. BIG MISTAKE! Aside from the terrible service, poor food quality, and extremely slow cooks, I managed to eat enough contaminated food to make today very uncomfortable: my stomach's been killing me all day.

We wouldn't have eaten there at all except that I hadn't been able to eat much at the lunch provided and had forgotten to bring adequate food to supplement what I could eat and I was starving. Not a good position to be in. I blame my lack of preparation on how I've been feeling (still recovering from the last round of gluten problems) and the stress of trying to get everything ready for Mr M to go on an extended trip. That's not a good excuse, but it is a fact of life that things aren't always how we want them to be.

A few days ago I purchased Healthy Snacks To Go from KitchenStewardship.com. It's an ebook with more than 30 recipes for snacks that aren't full of processed ingredients. They're not all gluten free, but a number of them are (and are clearly labeled gluten free) or can be easily tweaked. Since it only cost $6.95, I decided to give it a whirl and was not disappointed. Quite a few of the recipes are for snacks that I can prepare ahead of time and carry with me for times when there's nothing safe for me to eat. I also really like that they're healthier and cheaper than store-bought snacks.

Some of the recipes I'll start making next week: granola bars, homemade lara bars (the store-bought versions have been a staple I keep in my purse, but they're pricey and I haven't bought any in awhile), applesauce, fruit leather, and yogurt. Yum!

All the stomach pain I've endured recently has definitely emphasized that I must be prepared at all times. I don't want to be really hungry and not have any safe food options. I really don't want to have this stomach pain ever again.