Gluten Free Adventures

I am so so faithful to my absolute favorite restaurant ever... Mi Margarita!  They are so good to me there!  And the food is always good... and the drinks...oh my goodness!  Best. Margaritas. Ever.

Although I could eat Mexican food every single day of my life and not get bored.... not everyone feels the same.  It makes me wonder if people hesitate to ask me out to dinner or lunch dates because they know they will have to eat Mexican food....again :/

Maybe it's time to expand my horizons so I don't make all of our friends bored,  or make Mi Margarita run out of salsa or tequila!

This is where the idea for gluten free adventures was born.

I have been to many a place that tells me they can't feed me anything... and I just walk out the door.  That, my friends, is not a good feeling.  So to avoid that feeling I always just go to my usual place.  When I go out to eat I want it to be enjoyable, not stressful... and I know I have no worries or fear at Mi Margarita.  It is my happy place, my comfort zone.  But I need to grow up a bit.  (No offense Mi Marg)  So, I have decided to not let it bother me when someone is rude/inconsiderate/ignorant/(insert any other not so nice adjective).  That's life right?

 Instead I simply don't give them my business, and move on.  Money talks... and they won't get mine.  And so what if  I end up back at Mi Margarita...then I wash my sorrows down with some margaritas and all is right in my world again.  See, no harm done.

Besides how am I going to make people understand if I first don't make them aware? How can I expect a change if I don't first ask for it?

So I will be exploring the restaurant scene and sharing my expierience with you all here.  I will be focusing on how friendly and knowledgable the staff is when it comes to celiac disease or food allergies/intolerances, and how willing they are to help.   Are they taking me seriously?  I will also focus on how good the food is, and of course the drinks.  So check back to see how celiac friendly the world (in all reality, mostly just the Illinois Valley)  REALLY is....

I love this image from Udi's
Why is this so difficult for some people to comprehend??

Gluten Free Playdough!

I am a kid at heart! I always say if I am literally as big as a kid (I'm only 4 foot 10!) and wear shoes (size 2!) that often match some of my preschoolers' shoes then why can't I act like a kid sometimes... Ok more than sometimes :). In fact I was just watching Clifford just this morning! It was the one where T-Bone is trying to be tough.. I love that one!

One thing that makes me so sad is thinking about children suffering from celiac disease or any food allergy for that matter. Do they understand? Do they feel left out? I was diagnosed at 19 and that was bad enough... I can't imagine living a childhood without gluten!

I sit down to a table full of play dough with my preschoolers and can't help but worry about all the gluten inside such an innocent children's favorite.  I have to muster up my T-bone toughness and force myself not to play along with the kids... And I hate not playing with the kids!

We all know how often the things children play with end up in their mouths, so consequently, whatever is on their hands also ends up in their mouths with those fingers... including any nasty gluten!  So ensuring that playdough is GF is very important.  Not to mention a lot of people (like me) react to topical gluten and like to avoid even touching the stuff.  So I sit there with the kids and think to myself, there has got to be a better way! 

I thought what better time than now to figure out the better way!  And this way is kid tested and celiac approved!  I've seen a lot of different ways of doing this both online and in countless books about celiac.  I sifted through them all and settled on this one from Gluten Free Doctor because it is not only GF, but it also smells yummy and has pretty colors!

Koolaid Kolored Play Dough

• 1/2 cup salt
• 2 tablespoons cooking oil
• 1 c boiling water
• 3/4 cup white rice flour
• 1/4 cup tapioca flour
• 1-2 pkg Koolaid (unsweetened)- Use different koolaids to get lots of different colors and scents.  FYI- the koolaid that is supposed to change colors won't work for this...I promise!

1.  Boil the water in a pan with the salt and oil.
2.  Add the koolaid color of your choice now. It will dissolve and make the color better. 
3.  Stir in the flours all at once and allow it to cook for 30 seconds or so, stirring all the time. 
4.  Mix another batch for each color you want to make.

If kept in a covered plastic container, this dough lasts for months.

Now I must admit, I am not one of Koolaid's biggest fans....But in this case I am going to let it slide, because I do not react topically to a boat load of sugar, I just don't think it is a great idea to ingest it on a regular basis. So I will not drink Koolaid, but it does one heck of a good job making this play dough look and smell pretty!  And with all edible GF ingredients if a little ends up in the kids' mouths it isn't the end of the world.

Look how pretty!