Eating Gluten-Free While Vacationing In Washington

[BethM55]

We returned yesterday from our foray into the wilds of eastern and western Washington state. With a few exceptions, people in restaurants seemed informed about gluten and eating gluten free. I was pleasantly surprised at the effort made, to keep my meals healthy for me. We visited the Great Harvest Bread Co. in Bellingham, WA, where on Wednesdays, they clean the bakery and then bake gluten free breads and other baked goods. I bought a loaf of a mixed grain bread, almost bought the cinnamon raisin bread, but I only had room to carry one loaf. Good bread, although a bit crumbly, but nice flavor. Oh, but the scones!! Cranberry orange scones. Oh, my. I bought two, and my spouse and I shared them for breakfast the next two days. Yummmmm!

During the primary portion of our vacation we lived on a working small farm in Rice, WA. A chef had been hired for the duration of the 5 day class we took there. She and I emailed a few times, about my dietary needs. She assured me that there would be lots of tasty, appropriate things for me to eat. She wasn't kidding! I felt very well cared for. On pizza night, she made a polenta crust for me, and had me put my choice of toppings on it before anyone else was allowed to make theirs. She even put parchment paper on the baking sheet, to ensure a clean baking surface for my meal. Of course it helped that there was fresh goat's milk, wonderful goat's milk cheeses made on the premises, and produce grown organically there and on neighboring farms, to enhance the deliciousness of every meal.

Overall, I feel encouraged about eating in restaurants successfully. It was wearing a bit, though, needing to repeatedly explain my needs. However, I had no gluten reactions at all, with one or two possible exceptions. My reactions are less digestive and more joint and muscle pain, with emotional and irritability issues, so sometimes it's hard to tell what the cause is when it happens. I suspect I'm less sensitive than some folks here, based on the posts I've read, so the cross contamination may be less obvious for me.

It's good to be home though, it's less stressful eating in my own kitchen.