Nurse on the Run

I’m home for a long weekend in Chicago…woo woo!  I was home last in June, which was a super quick weekend filled with a (failed) job interview.  The time at home always goes so fast, but this time I have four (almost) full days to enjoy being home, and I should be happier to come back to Pennsylvania knowing that I won’t be here much longer. 

One of my favorite things about coming home is that I get to see my parents!  I will fight you on the fact that I have the best parents ever, so I’m always happy to see them.  They’re wonderful and have done so much for me and are fun to be with, so it makes me smile to go home.  One thing you may not know about my mom is that she’s a diabetic (go insulin!), but not only that…she has celiac disease.

For those of you not in the know, celiac disease is an allergy to gluten, which a protein found in wheat, rye, and barley.  It’s what develops when you knead/mix dough, giving bread its structure and chewiness.  If you’ve ever had rice bread, you would know the difference!  When people with celiac disease eat gluten…it’s not a pretty sight.  Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea…not to mention it’s actually damaging to your small intestine!

My mom has had celiac disease for as long as I can remember (apparently my sister and I played on the hospital beds while my mom was super sick before her diagnosis), so growing up eat a lot of rice and not having “Friday night pizza” was normal for me.  My mom was asking for a cheeseburger at McDonald’s with no bun long before the “low carb” craze hit, and it’s always fun to figure out what is safe for her to eat at restaurants.  Also, I remember the days when she ate “rice cake sandwiches”…before rice bread was really all that available.

Anyway, what’s the point of all this?  Well, I discovered that my tiny town in Pennsylvania is actually quite good at catering to those with special diets!  Many of the grocery stores around here have “health food aisles,” many of which are filled with gluten free items.  I few months ago I noticed that Betty Crocker had come out with gluten-free baking mixes, so I bought a bunch (they’re not $1.00 each like mine are…) and mailed them home.  My mom was so excited!

Last week, I spotted Bisquick (you know…to make pancakes with!) in the local store, so I took a picture with my iPhone and sent to my mom, who immediately posted about her excitement on facebook.  (Yes, I have a very tech savvy mother…she told me yesterday she wants the new iPhone so she can video chat.)  Since I was headed home this weekend, I decided to stock up on some gluten free goodies for her!  Check out what I got:

 
I was browsing Whole Foods (because that’s what normal people in their free time…), and I found gluten free ICE CREAM CONES!  How cool is that??  I don’t think my mom has had an ice cream cone in 22 years.  I’m so excited to give them to her.    The cookies also looked tasty, so I nabbed some as well…although with the diabetes, not everything gluten free is good, but treats are good now and then. 

 
Linguine!  I’ve see lots of gluten free pasta, but this was my first time spotting linguine.  Many Italian restaurants are smartening up and offering a gluten free menu with rice pasta and rice pizza crusts, which my mom LOVES.  Rice pasta actually tastes pretty good too.

 
And the real winner!!  My grandma used to make biscuits using the recipe on the Bisquick box, but my mom could never have them…now she can!  That’s why I had to buy two boxes. 

All that being said…gluten free food is EXPENSIVE.  Those boxes of Bisquick were quite tiny and $4 each.  If you’ve ever tried to buy almond flour or rice flour for baking (okay, maybe that’s just me), you would know much more it costs to live this lifestyle.  However, given the option to miss out or enjoy, I would probably spend the money…especially since my mom is worth it. 

Do you (or does someone you know) have food allergies that make for an interesting diet?  Have you tried gluten free food?  What do you think?  They’ve come a long way in the past 22 years!  Also, can you imagine life without pancakes??  I know Matt can’t…