Supermarkets & Finding Gluten Free

My supermarket is rearranging the store. They used to have a small but adequate gluten free section with just the basics; crackers, breads, cookies, soups, etc. Now with this giant re-do they're mixing the gluten free stuff in with all the gluten food.

If I had one wish I'd like to take their marketing or layout department or whomever is in charge of this decision shopping with me. Let them get really hungry and take them down these mixed aisles and say, "You can't eat that, you can't eat that, you can't eat that, you can't eat that..." on and on until you find the one box of cereal you can eat.

For a supermarket to do this it's almost torture. Like waving all the things I can't eat in front of me and making me climb over it to get to the prize. Blah. This diet isn't a choice for me and many others. It's a necessity for life. It can be hard and I really don't need the extra aggravation of having to hunt all over the store to find something edible. Am I alone in the fact that it's not going to make me buy more. In fact, it makes me drive down the street to the store that has s special aisle with my gluten free food.

I think I'll go find the store's facebook page and explain.... join me? We might find cookies...

Ending the Year with a Vent

Some grocery stores put the gluten free food mixed in with the glutenous food in the main aisles.  Gee thanks, I think as I wander up and down the rows reading labels of anything I think could be an edible possibility. I get to go through tons of stuff I can't eat, stuff that will make me sicker than a dog, to find the one package of something gluten free. Really? Did you think it was a good idea to tease a Celiac like this? Would it have been so much trouble to just put it all in one place? A place where I didn't have to look at crusty Italian bread, Ding Dongs and pasta?

Sometimes I tell people what I can and can't eat and they are horrified. "I couldn't live like that!" they declare.

Are you kidding me? Spend three days holding onto the block of cement that takes up the space where your stomach used to be and you'll find out how quickly you can live gluten free. It doesn't take rocket science to realize that the days of pain came from the direct ingestion of the rye bread you had for lunch on Tuesday.

Sometimes when the living facts of this disease get to me and I'm met with a supermarket manager who tells me their stuff is mixed in the aisles I can't help but retort, "Who's bright idea was that?"

Sorry, I've been a  (miss) diagnosed Celiac for ten years, but sometimes  it still gets me. Usually when I'm tired and cranky. The only thing that keeps me going is the fact that I'm one of the lucky ones. I know about gluten and it's affect on my body. Not all Celiacs are diagnosed. Some are in denial. I'm lucky enough to know where the danger lies. I count that as a blessing.

Vent over.

Here's to a Happy and Healthy, Gluten Free New Year!
Stay well, stay happy.