I was glutenized...

The last few weeks have been fairly busy with some what stressful days. I got sloppy eating out and paid the price, twice. I was glutenized.

Let me start by saying since being diagnosed in early June of this year, I have done everything possible not to consume any gluten in fear of the gnawing stomach pain coming back. I have wondered daily if I had accidentally had consumed gluten since going gluten-free with all of our eating out. However I think it's fairly safe to say I had not consumed gluten until recently.

We ended up at Shari's restaurant late on a Saturday night after we were starving and running out of options. The waitress was pretty clueless (not to mention stressed) when I asked about what was gluten-free. I ended up ordering a steak and salad. I asked if the ranch was gluten-free and she came back and said yes. The salad came with croutons and instead of sending the salad back, I picked off the croutons. Mistake. Big Mistake. Huge. Even though I know it was the croutons, I still wonder about the ranch. It definitely was not fresh ranch by any means. I won't even mention how bad the rest of the meal was for all of us. Ok, wait. The kids loved their milkshakes. By the time we got home, I could barely stand up. The gnawing stomach pain was unbelievable and shocking how quickly it hit.

This past week I needed a meal for the kids after soccer practice and of course had no desire to cook. After all it was going to be 9:00 pm when they got home. I stopped by KFC and bought a bucket for the troops and ordered a baked chicken breast for me. I didn't ask if it was gluten-free or even do a quick internet check. I just ordered. About 20 minutes after I devoured the chicken, including the skin, I couldn't stand straight because my stomach hurt so bad. I wanted to crawl instead of walking and I looked like I was about 9 months pregnant. The next morning I did a KFC menu check and sure enough, the baked chicken does contain gluten.

Being gluten-free stinks and I have my "poor me" days, but after being glutenized twice in a 2-week period, I will do my very best not to lazy about my food choices because it just isn't worth it.