I Think I'm Getting Better...

[floridanative]

Some of you know that I have had the hardest time with how people treat me differently now....well how one close friend in particular has been very unsupportive since my dx. Well on Sunday she gave me a belated b-day gift and the card in the bag (which she made me open in front of her) had a drawing of four darling b-day cakes on it. At first I thought why would someone give a person with Celiac that kind of card but I stopped myself in that moment, read the card inside (nothing to do with cake) and excitedly opened all the 4 gifts inside - odd I thought but I appreciated her generousity. Anyway, we enjoyed our Starbuck's drinks and when we left I got in my car and just laughed and laughed. I made sure my friend did not see this. I was laughing that though it was an ironic card for me but my friend didn't mean anything by it. It was a card from one of those packages of cards so she just picked out the b-day style and that happened to have b-day cakes on it. No harm, no foul. It's easy to say 'remember it's your diet, don't expect people to accomodate it' but it's another thing to live it. I think I'm finally toughening up my shell with regards to this.

I usually use this thread for it's intent - to vent about how bad something is or seems but today I felt like sharing that even the non food part of dealing with the gluten free lifestyle gets easier in time too.

[tarnalberry]

the card in the bag (which she made me open in front of her) had a drawing of four darling b-day cakes on it. At first I thought why would someone give a person with Celiac that kind of card

just imagine that the four cute cakes were gluten-free cakes! no reason not to!

[jerseyangel]

just imagine that the four cute cakes were gluten-free cakes! no reason not to!

I was thinking the same thing! I guess I'm just getting used to substituting

Tiffany, I'm glad that you could thke this in stride--it all takes time. A very Happy Belated Birthday to you!

[floridanative]

Absolutely! I actually made cupcakes from the Down & Rogers mix but they were out of vanilla and they were great - with choc. chips/coconut added. Did not care for the plain batch I made from first box. But you are just the person (Tiffany) to ask this. I had Pamela's choc. chip pan bars at a support group meeting Sat. and I remembered Pamela's browines had dark choc. so I told DH not to have any pan bars (severe allergy to dark and bittersweet choc. only). I e-mailed the company Monday and they confirmed that their wonderful packaged cookies had dark choc. in them (if they have choc. in them) and their choc. cookie mix does too. So I'm trying to figure out a choc. chip pan bar both me and DH can have. I love the 123 Gluten Free brand of pan bars but they only give you the option of adding applesauce or pumpkin to their mix. Both of those are wet. Do you know how I could make a choc. chip pan bar - like by adding more liquid or something? I don't want to bake from scratch or even buy an all purpose gluten-free flour - yet. I just want a choc. chip cookie mix that I can make that does not contain dark choc. And I really want to use the 123 Gluten Free brand.

[jenvan]

Tiffany-

You took a great posture with this one... If we all took this kind-of posture more often, there would be so much less conflict I think Oh and, yes, I would imagine them as gluten-free cakes too And damn--I missed your b-day, didn't I? I hope is was great !!

[floridanative]

Thanks! I did enjoy my b-day - took the day off and went to the pool, then showered and went to the movie (Devil Wears Prada - love it!) and then we went to the Braves game that night. Well that part wasn't so great - we got killed. Braves are terrible this year.

[tarnalberry]

Absolutely! I actually made cupcakes from the Down & Rogers mix but they were out of vanilla and they were great - with choc. chips/coconut added. Did not care for the plain batch I made from first box. But you are just the person (Tiffany) to ask this. I had Pamela's choc. chip pan bars at a support group meeting Sat. and I remembered Pamela's browines had dark choc. so I told DH not to have any pan bars (severe allergy to dark and bittersweet choc. only). I e-mailed the company Monday and they confirmed that their wonderful packaged cookies had dark choc. in them (if they have choc. in them) and their choc. cookie mix does too. So I'm trying to figure out a choc. chip pan bar both me and DH can have. I love the 123 Gluten Free brand of pan bars but they only give you the option of adding applesauce or pumpkin to their mix. Both of those are wet. Do you know how I could make a choc. chip pan bar - like by adding more liquid or something? I don't want to bake from scratch or even buy an all purpose gluten-free flour - yet. I just want a choc. chip cookie mix that I can make that does not contain dark choc. And I really want to use the 123 Gluten Free brand.

I'm afraid I'm no help. I'd probably try adding more liquid to make a pan bar, but I've never made such a thing. I"m also quite perplexed as to how he'd be able to handle milk chocolate but not dark chocolate, since milk chocolate *is* dark chocolate, but with milk (and usually more sugar) added... Sorry to be unhelpful there.

[jerseyangel]

then we went to the Braves game that night. Well that part wasn't so great - we got killed. Braves are terrible this year.

This breaks my heart I remember back in the mid 90's, we couldn't even get tickets to a game unless we ordered way in advance! Still love em, though--they'll be back

Glad you had a nice birthday

[floridanative]

I know - until I met my hubby I'd never heard of such a strange allergy. But trust me - even if he's the only one in the world with it - it's real. Learned the hard way when he was less fearful and we had some choc. dessert at Hard Rock in Vegas - 12 years ago. Well I won't go into the gory details but I will say that I did not enjoy driving almost the whole way home - to Mountain View CA!!! Now unless a restaurant knows exactly what choc. is in something, he doesn't get it. An allergist explained it to the parents (in-laws) 30 years ago. Something to do with dark choc. having something or milk choc. not having something blah blah. I do recall once someone saying they knew someone else with the same issue but we've never actually met anyone that has it. Then again I met someone with an intolerance to carrots and he says he's never met anyone else with that.

[jerseyangel]

Tiffany, I would think you could take any cookie mix and spread it into a greased pan and just bake it as a bar-type cookie. I know that I used to do that frequently with regular Toll House cookie dough for my kids when I didn't want to take the time to bake cookies. I didn't add anything to it or change anything--just baked it for about 20 minutes. I'm not sure that this will help, but I thought I'd throw it out there

[jenvan]

Absolutely! I actually made cupcakes from the Down & Rogers mix but they were out of vanilla and they were great - with choc. chips/coconut added. Did not care for the plain batch I made from first box. But you are just the person (Tiffany) to ask this. I had Pamela's choc. chip pan bars at a support group meeting Sat. and I remembered Pamela's browines had dark choc. so I told DH not to have any pan bars (severe allergy to dark and bittersweet choc. only). I e-mailed the company Monday and they confirmed that their wonderful packaged cookies had dark choc. in them (if they have choc. in them) and their choc. cookie mix does too. So I'm trying to figure out a choc. chip pan bar both me and DH can have. I love the 123 Gluten Free brand of pan bars but they only give you the option of adding applesauce or pumpkin to their mix. Both of those are wet. Do you know how I could make a choc. chip pan bar - like by adding more liquid or something? I don't want to bake from scratch or even buy an all purpose gluten-free flour - yet. I just want a choc. chip cookie mix that I can make that does not contain dark choc. And I really want to use the 123 Gluten Free brand.

Tiffany-

Why not use the yummy Namaste blondie's mix and add whatever you want to it, choc chips etc? It is so good and I add all kinds of goodies to it! They are essentially pan bars and I make them choc chip...

[floridanative]

I'm odd man out on Namaste - think their vanilla cake was the worst gluten-free thing I've had to date. I made it right. I just don't like something in it. I love Pamela's choc. chip mix (which only I can have) and I love 123GF brand. I think I'll e-mail them and see if they have an idea of how to make their pan bars choc, without applesauce or pumkin. I'll post if they are of any help! Thanks guys! Now I have to get to the store and p.o. Now that I can't order enchiladas out at my fave Mexican place I have to make my own and that is what I'm doing tonight!

[jenvan]

That's too bad...looove their blondies! Good luck

[floridanative]

Does anyone know if Namaste blondies are like much tastier than their vanilla cake mix? I think I just don't like their line but maybe the two items are nothing alike. The only thing I've had is the vanilla cake and it tasted like it had wheat germ in it - seriously.

[bluejeangirl]

Does anyone know if Namaste blondies are like much tastier than their vanilla cake mix? I think I just don't like their line but maybe the two items are nothing alike. The only thing I've had is the vanilla cake and it tasted like it had wheat germ in it - seriously.

I thought they were good. It makes a big pan though, and if your not going to eat it in two days I'd freeze them because they dry out fast. I added choc. chips to mine.

gail