*standing in a field, surrounded by flocks of Sandhill Cranes
*a single Sandhill Crane flying over our yard, calling loudly
*horses sticking their heads out of the windows of their trailer on the freeway
*buying myself a special gift

The last few days have been an adventure with food. I am now gluten-free (which I don't recommend doing unless you are very steady on step 7 and have a very good reason for doing it) and that has meant doing extra planning.

On Wednesday, we had a catered luncheon at work. I knew it was coming from Olive Garden, so I just made the assumption that I wouldn't be able to eat it. I packed a lunch as usual, and while everyone else ate lasagna, chicken parmigiana and fettuccine Alfredo, I had chicken, brown and wild rice, and cucumber salad. I joined in all the festivities and had a good time.

On Thursday, we had a consultant in. When the meeting ran over my regular lunchtime, I told everyone that I was going to go heat up my lunch. At that point, they decided to break for lunch and go to a restaurant that I had been wanting to try out. Initially, I decided to go with them, but then I decided that I really shouldn't wait that long to eat. So although lunch would have been really yummy and fun, I stayed in the office and ate what I had brought to work with me.

On Friday, we had a catered lunch at work again. I knew the food might not work for me. Some of it ended up being all right, and I supplemented with food from the lunch I had brought as a back up plan. Then that night we went to a party. It was a pot luck, which can be really challenging because you don't know who brought what, so you can't ask if there is gluten in things. I knew there would be enchilada casseroles, but chile sauce usually has flour in it, so I packed a sandwich bag of chicken in my purse in case I couldn't get enough protein at the party. I ended up managing to find enough, so I didn't have to use my chicken, but I'm glad I brought it just in case. I had a great time at the party.

We have been invited to a neighbor's house for Christmas Eve dinner. I know they are serving tamales, which should be all right for me. We have a fancy cheese assortment we can bring with gluten-free crackers, so I can supplement my protein with cheese. As long as it isn't windy, we will light our luminarias before we go, so that when we walk home in the dark, we will see the lights flickering. (Luminaries are made by putting sand in the bottom of a paper lunch bag, and then setting a votive candle in the sand. Then you light the candles. The lights flicker in the bags. It's a New Mexico tradition. We will set them on top of our adobe wall and along the edge of our driveway.

One of the most important things I have learned in my years of doing the program is to have a back-up plan. I always pack a lunch, even if I supposedly have lunch plans, in case my lunch date cancels, or the food provided doesn't work for me. If I'm going somewhere and don't know what the food situation is, I bring along some protein in a sandwich bag, or have a simple protein shake first. And when I was not gluten-free, I would not have had an issue with the food at any of these luncheons or parties. I would have just made an exception about not eating whites and had lasagna and chicken. I would have been fine with all the food at the second catered lunch, and I would have had enchilada casserole at the potluck party. The only one that still would have been a problem was the lunch that would have been very late. I am just sharing these stories as examples of planning and handling tricky food situations. But don't get worried - if you don't have additional foods you are avoiding, it is usually much simpler than this.

Allison