Gluten-Free Heaven...so it seems

There is definitely something to be said about being gluten-free in Canada, and I'd use one word:  easier.  We've been home for 3 days and I've enjoyed all kinds of pre-made foods like cookies, crackers, pepperoni, hot cereal and tons of fresh fruit and veggies.  I even enjoyed store-bought, gluten-free bread.  Heaven!  It wasn't exactly fluffy white bread, but with some  non-dairy margarine melted on it, coated with cinnamon and brown sugar, it was such a treat that it was the first thing I thought of this morning as my eyes popped open to the early morning Canadian sun.  I must admit, I was a bit overwhelmed with all the choices in one of the local grocery stores in my in-laws hometown (city).  So overwhelmed, in fact, with my 3 shopping companions excitedly showing me all the gluten-free products that they were finding, that I had to ask for a few moments just to peruse the aisles alone.  Very graciously all 3 left me alone for a bit, and then my mother in law came to shop alongside me and I used her natural-foods knowledge to help me shop more nutritiously.  It was such a success that I've spent the last 3 days eating fun foods rather than the usual basics that I tend to fill my belly with.  Of course I'm still eating nutritious foods, but the gaps are filled with treats.  My weight goal:  to gain about 3 kilos while I'm here.  So far this hasn't seemed like an option but I believe that as the toxins of traveling evaporate from my body in those ways that toxins tend to travel, the tables will turn and weight will increase.  That's the hope, anyways.

At first when I arrived home I thought that the gluten-free meals I had eaten on the flights were the culprits for my stomach upset, but watching the rest of my gluten-eating family go through the same symptoms as me, I think that it's just the way of traveling.  I was actually quite impressed with China Airlines' meal plans for gluten-intolerance.  They were quite bland but they had lots of meat and veggies, and filled in all the gaps with fresh fruit.  I think I'd rather go bland than wonder what's in the sauce smothering the chicken breast.  I have to admit that I didn't eat the cake that they served me...nor did I touch the apple juice cup that was only written in Chinese.  My level of trust just doesn't go beyond the unknown (rice flour or wheat?  What DO those characters say about the stabilizer in the juice?).  Other than that, it was all good.

Before I sign off, I've been made aware through a fellow blogger in Singapore of a link to gluten-free travel cards for Celiacs at this link.  This is a great idea, as even though I'm learning Indonesian, there's ALWAYS some kind of miscommunication between myself and the server in whatever restaurant I choose to eat at in Indonesia.