Three (Gluten free!) Peas in a Pod
They say opposites attract and after an eventful first semester as a college freshman, I can say that meeting people totally different from me definitely keeps life interesting. Sometimes, though, it's nice to findsomeone like me to befriend. Cue the gluten free gal pals!
My friends, who I shall call K and P, found each other through strange twists of fate and circumstance. K is my yoga instructor, and after we stretched and worked our abs, our whole class likes to go eat lunch together in the cafeteria. And, considering that I always wait in the corner, eat food that isn't on the cafeteria counters, and usually take longer to wrangle my meal than the average pizza-eating Joe, celiac disease isn't easily hidden. So I didn't try and K opened up about her own food intolerance - a mouthful that I won't even try to remember.
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| Yoga elegance began all of it... |
I met P., on the other hand, through my usual routine of waiting in the corner for my food. By this time, I'm a veteran of the Casey-versus-Gluten war, and usually I'll just scroll through gluten free goodies on Instagram(check out my Instagram to see what I eat everyday!)on my phone to keep me occupied as I wait and show the regular-eaters that I'm not in line. One day, I saw another girl standing in my spot: P, waiting for her own gluten free, soy free, vegan meal. The way I view our meeting? Friends that wait together, stay together!
Now, I'm not saying that we are exactly the same. We have different hobbies (I'm certainly no body builder, like K!), are in different stages of life, and have distinct health issues (I'm the Chosen One with soy in this trio). Yet, our food limitationsconnect us in a way that people who have always eaten normally may not understand. I have been so blessed to find gluten-eating friends who love me despite my eating habits and health problems, and I love them to death, but it's nice to complain about indigestion, glutening, or the lack of options in the cafeteria and hear, "Me too!" in response.
There's also one extra bonus: we can cook together in the kitchen in K's dorm. Score! I appreciate every container of gluten free food that the cafeteria rolls out with "Casey :)" written on the front, and, even when I'm bored of the options or tired of the waiting, I try to stay grateful. But, on Wednesday night when K, P, and I cooked salmon and veggies together, I loved being in control. I loved buying my own cut of salmon, knowing exactly what spices we rubbed into the fish, and how much oil we put on our veggies before sliding them into the oven. No worries about accidental contamination. No questions over exactly what I was allowing into my body.
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| Our scrumptious cuts of salmon, in my opinion seasoned |
Even better, I loved expanding my palate. My family has never been extremely adventurous with our meals - in fact, I'm a self-proclaimed meat-and-potatoes kind of gal. As I've mentioned in some of my other posts, though, celiac disease has pushed me out of my comfort zone and into the world of savory exploration. While I've been learning about theatre and creative writing in my classes, I've learned from my cafeteria that I like avocados, olives are great on pizza, and cucumbers, and celery can be eaten alone. K and P stretched my knowledge even further of Wednesday, however, by suggesting sides of spaghetti squash, roasted Brussels sprouts, broccoli, and asparagus.
I'll admit, when I walked into the kitchen, I didn't have too high of hopes. I knew I'd devour the salmon, but the veggies - squash named after a wheat dish? wasn't that asking for trouble? - sounded more foreign than appetizing. As I watched how big to cut the broccoli, how much olive oil to bathe the vegetables, and how to pit the squash,though, my stomach began to betray me. Those brussel sprouts, the food that my parents have defamed for years - were starting to smell pretty tasty.
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| Our DELICIOUS product - brussel sprouts and all |
And when I took my first bite of our finished product, my taste buds threw a party. We rocked that dish and I can't wait to rock it with my own family. As great as the food tasted, though, the conversation was even better. We talked diagnoses, symptoms and side effects; we shared our favorite gluten free (soy free) meals and our struggles with college eating; we even discussed the hardships of trying to gain weight in a society where skinny equals healthy. With those two, I know that any of my celiac complaints or food issues will be heard with understanding and without judgement.
And really, isn't this the best part of suffering from any food intolerance/allergies/diseases? Knowing that, no matter one's ethnicity, background, age, status or other identifying factors, there is a community of people with identical issues. Support by friends and family is priceless, but the realization that I am - and you are - not alone in food struggles is worth savoring. Just like our salmon on Wednesday night.
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| You are not ever alone with this crew! |
Do you find yourself drawn to others with meals issues? What is your favorite gluten free/allergen unfastened meal? Comment beneath!
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