One of my work teams decided to not do a cake, etc at the team meeting on the manager's 40th birthday. I thought the team just forgot, and I was feeling bad that I hadn't done more to put a little something together. It turns out that the team had talked about it and decided to forgo a party because of me. One of the team tried unsuccessfully to find a GF cake, and so rather than getting a regular cake and figuring I could deal with it, they decided to bag it altogether. Argh.

We flirted with the idea of going to a place we'd never tried for our anniversary: Noodi on McDade. Jenn had seen something on-line that seemed to imply that they might be able to accomodate gluten free and vegetarian dining. When we got there, no one was immediately available for us to talk to, and there was nothing on the menu that gave us a sign of their ability to do the GF thing. I got cold feet and we left, chosing instead to go to our usual sushi place, which is nice, but disappointing because we wanted to do something new.

Jenn had a great idea at dinner. The way that some restaurants quietly declare their kosher status -- with a little sticker on the door -- would be a great way for restaurants to declare their ability to accommodate a GF diet. No one need freak out. Regular diners could proceed as usual, and people like me could tell at a glance that I would likely have a positive experience at the place. I will explore this idea further.

I gave up chocolate after an especially out-of-control holiday truffle fundraiser season when I worked at MANNA in 1994. It was clear to me then that I did not have the ability to regulate my chocolate intake and that I needed to just declare it to be off-limits. At the time, white chocolate was not readily available in the world, and I seemed to be able to keep a grip on myself in its presence, so I decided that white chocolate didn't "count."

Now that it is a suspect food, I'm feeling a bit deprived. I need to figure out a readily available gluten-free treat. Just knowing that I CAN get one, even if my weight-manager brain waves me off of it, would make me feel a lot better.

So I ate a little more of that trail mix today -- maybe half a cup, no biggie. I felt very celiac-y within the hour. The mix has white chocolate chips, and now I read that some white chocolate has flour, some doesn't. I got this stuff from Nuts to You, no labels. The place is probably the poster site for gluten contamination.

Lessons of the day #1: Don't eat food from Nuts to You.

Lesson of the day #2: Don't trust white chocolate. Rats.