Half-way point

While I enjoy the challenge presented by gluten-free baking, neither of us is very happy. We both agreed that dairy-free, while difficult, was manageable and acceptable.

However, half-way through March, both of us are gladly looking forward to April when we can eat gluten again.

Alex, who I think is taking this far harder than I am, told me today: I LOVE GLUTEN, AND I DON'T CARE WHO KNOWS IT.

Dairy-free we could live with. I doubt we'll ever be gluten-free by choice again after this month.

The ease of not needing to think

I've mentioned before how lucky Alex and I are. Excepting for tasting cilantro as soap, we don't have any good sensitivities or allergies. That means if we end up eating something we've chosen not to, we won't notice. That's not true of people with allergies or sensitivities.

We went to PF Changs yesterday for lunch. Since most asian foods contain soy sauce, they're typically a no-no for gluten-free folks. However, PF Changs has a gluten-free menu. It wasn't the most amazing food I've ever had, but it wasn't bad at all.

We went and made a point of ordering off the gluten-free menu. Our waiter saw and acknowledged that we were ordering gluten-free. When our food arrived, I asked for GF soy sauce, and the woman who brought our food looked at us and then at our waiter and asked, "Is it all supposed to be gluten free?" We responded that yes, it was, and they both profusely apologized and said they'd remake our food.

It came back, and was gluten-free and wasn't bad.

When we were paying, our waiter brought us fortune cookies. I raised my eyebrows and asked politely if the cookies, too, were gluten-free. The waiter, stunned, said no, they were not. Smiling, we gave them back (they were in packages, not loose). I explained about our project (he was worried about an allergic reaction) and he felt better. But you could see that he was thinking hard about he fact that he always brought cookies, even if people had specifically requested everything gluten-free.

For most people, the cookies wouldn't be a problem. And our waiter never really thought about what they were. Like I said, we're lucky that we don't have the allergies or sensitivities because nothing bad happens if we consume our "tainted" food. But this experience made me think, and I hope it made our waiter think too.

An interesting side effect

Well, we're gluten-free now. After my initial devastation at realizing I can't really go out for asian food, I'm doing okay. I've already attempted GF cookies (I wasn't pleased with the result, but Alex liked them) and GF buttermilk biscuits (which are awesome).

We're still mostly dairy-free, at least I am, but it's by choice now. The fact that I lost 3.5 lbs in February without eating dairy was really a wake up call.

But here's an interesting side effect. I buy one latte a week from Starbucks (on Thursdays, which are my long days) and this week I got it with non-fat milk since I didn't want to pay extra for soy milk. Upon drinking it, however, I realized I felt guilty. I have no reason for feeling guilty, but I definitely do. I suppose that means that next week I'll get a soy latte.

Cravings, lessons learned

Dairy-free month is coming to a close. We've been remarkably good, and frankly it was a lot easier than I thought it would be. There were a couple of things I really wanted but couldn't have, but for the most part, I hardly missed dairy at all. Which is remarkable.

That being said, as we're getting ready to transition into our new challenge (March: gluten free) I find myself craving things I can't have.

I want tiramisu. I want buttered popcorn. And, for the second month in a row, I want a grilled ham and cheese sandwich like nobody's business.

Since Alex and I technically cheated on Valentine's Day, we forfeit our amnesty day. Which means we transition directly from dairy-free to gluten free with no free day in between.

I'm planning on trying my hand at gluten free sandwich bread, but I don't know how well it'll turn out.

For the most part I'm not worried about being without gluten. Gluten is Alex's downfall, not mine.

I survived dairy-free. And I learned something very important - I can do without. I didn't miss cheese with a passion. I couldn't have cared less about not having milk. Butter is well loved, but not needed.

I plan on cutting down on my dairy intake from here on out. I'm still going to eat cheese because I love it, but I'm downgrading it from a necessity to a treat. I'm switching to almond milk lattes (less than 40 calories a serving!).

So, wish us luck as we transition, and if you know of any tried and true gluten-free sandwich breads, please let me know. I've got a hankering for a good grilled cheese sandwich.

Decisions, decisions

Sunday is Valentine's Day. I'm sure you're all aware of that. For us, Valentine's Day has typically been a day where we indulge and treat ourselves to a nice meal.

There is a restaurant here in Seattle that is wonderful. It's called Tilth. We've eaten at Tilth many times and have always thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. This year, they are having a prix fixe menu. When Alex called to ask if they would be willing to make ours dairy-free, they readily agreed. They're just awesome like that.

However. We have given ourselves one amnesty day per month. And Tilth is rather expensive. Why, Alex asked, would we pay all that money and not eat what we want?

Why, indeed?

We are very lucky. We have no food allergies. We make enough money to eat what we want. That's the whole point of this exercise.

But Alex was right. It seems silly to pay a lot of money for a dinner that, while I'm sure we would enjoy, isn't what we'd really rather be eating.

So Sunday is Valentine's Day. It is also our amnesty day. And we will enjoy it. But the most important thing is this: we will appreciate it for what it is. And that is actually what this is all about.

The reality of the situation

I commented last month about how I was aware that dairy was everywhere. I was worried about sinning unknowing.

Here's the reality: it happens.

Alex's latte got mixed up with someone else's on Tuesday, and he got one made with milk. He sipped it and knew right away it was wrong (though it had more to do with the fact that it was flavored, and less to do with how the milk was).

Last night, I baked a cake for a coworker. The cake is fine for me to eat because it doesn't contain any dairy (remember, for our purposes eggs are not dairy). However, when I went to make the icing, I realized I had three choices: make the icing and put it on the cake untasted, make the icing and snatch someone from outside to taste, or taste it myself.

I take a lot of pride in my cakes. I most definitely wasn't going to put it on the cake untasted. Icing is finicky, and it has to taste just right. I didn't want it to be too tart (it was cream cheese frosting) but I also didn't want it to be cloying. No way to tell without a taste.

I could have grabbed someone to taste it. It might have been difficult, it was 9:30pm after all, but I'm sure I could have done so. However, again, this is pride in my cake. I know what the cake tastes like so I know what I need the frosting to taste like.

So I tasted it myself. I only had two small tastes (think the size of a nail head). It was enough to get an idea what the icing needed.

Day three and I had dairy. But you know what? I don't regret it. I'm sure my lactose-free friends would back me up.

The second challenge: dairy-free

Well, we were successful. Vegetarian month came to a close with both of us feeling good about our progress.

During the course of the month, we decided that each month we would have one amnesty day. This, of course, is dependent on our adherence to the monthly challenge. Our amnesty day for vegetarianism was the 31st and we reintroduced ourselves to land animals and said goodbye to dairy.

Alex and I both agreed that we would return to vegetarianism later in the year and give it our full effort. In January, we were helped along by eating fish. When we return, we will be completely animal-free.

This month we're dairy-free. My hardest vice to give up will definitely be cheese, but I'll be strong. We even found a restaurant willing to make us a dairy-free dinner on Valentine's Day. Lucky us! (More on that later in the month).