Oh You Ate...

I know! I can't believe I almost moved on without talking about the food. 

Like I wrote about before we left I had decided to eat what I wanted and deal with the ramifications. So many of the outings and things we go on provide a lunch, or breakfast, or snacks, and so many of those things they provide I don't eat. Last time we went I gave all of my food restrictions to the companies and they gave me boxes of lettuce. Lots and lots of boxes of lettuce. 

I didn't want to do that this time so I decided I would pick and choose what I ate but not be strict about it. Pack my allergy pills and know that I could end up with sore joints.

And so that's what I did. 

I went crazy and ate all of the things!

Okay, I didn't do that. I talked to a couple of the places we go to see what they could do for me. Alii Nui (the company that does the sunset dinner cruise we went on) had their menu posted online and honestly there were enough choices for me in that menu that I wasn't worried, but I went ahead and let them know what I needed and they took great care of me. Had plates made just for me and brought them out to me when everyone else went below to the buffet. They even had a great dessert plate for me. I cannot tell you how exciting that is. A lot of places will have a gluten free dinner option and then have cake or cookies set out for dessert. 

The day long trip to Lanai could handle gluten free and I could just turn down anything else so that's what I did. They had a gluten free wrap for me for breakfast and just gave me extra fruit instead of a cinnamon roll. At their BBQ lunch they made special noodles for me instead of the yakisoba they do. Now, it was just gluten free spaghetti so it wasn't as wonderful, but it still worked. I just skipped the chicken (which is a shame because their chicken is really good) and the rolls. I didn't feel like I was missing anything. I had a little extra salad (more than just plain lettuce) to fill up. And they do a chocolate sundae on the way back in to port that is just delicious. 

The two whale watch trips had snacks but I skipped them. 

The luau at the hotel made me my own versions of everything including dessert. Brent got a plate with like 6 different things and I got a slice of chocolate mousse cake. He had more options, but I think mine was better over all. 

The rest of the time I picked and chose what sounded worth the risk. 

And when I did eat gluten or nightshades I only ate a little of them. The flight over had warm cookies, snickerdoodles which are one of my very favorites. I had two bites, enjoyed those two bites and gave the rest to Brent. At lunch I had one of the pork sliders on a guava bun, and ate the other one with a fork. I had two bites of mac salad. I had two bites of the cinnamon roll at Kihei Caffe. I had the wonton shells for the poke tacos, which worked out to two wonton wrappers. I had one bao. I also had some Maui sweet onion potato chips which are my very favorite chips. Oh! And some pizza at Monkeypod. I had pie there too, but I just ate the filling and left the crust for Brent. They make a great crust so it wasn't as easy as you'd think!

They had Hawaiian sweet bread French toast for breakfast one morning and I had a small bite of Brent's then decided against getting any for myself, I actually like the French toast I make better. Which is part of what I discovered with a few things. I have gotten used to my options. Like the cookie was good, but I can make a gluten free version that is really yummy so I don't need theirs. And Kihei makes a great cinnamon roll, but I have a cinnamon coffee cake mix that is super easy (I mean, it's a box mix for goodness sake) that is excellent. The bread for the french toast was fine but... I have gotten used to the extra flavor that my nut flours give to breads.

So I had what I wanted, not too much, but a little everyday. 

No allergic reactions at all. No hives, no itching. Nothing. So that was great and makes me wonder if I should do a test on nightshades again. Maybe I've been off them long enough that I can eat them again? Or it could have been that the times I had some (potato chips, spices in some of the fish dishes) it was a small enough amount it didn't trigger anything. 

Joint pain. Well, yeah. By about Thursday my feet and fingers were starting to feel it. Not as bad as when I first stopped, I could still close my hands in the morning, but it was building. This morning my feet were back to mostly not hurting when I got out of bed. So three days to flush the worst of it. I figure by the weekend I will be totally back to normal. So gluten/wheat is still a no go. Or at least a not without consequences.

The digestive issues that can come with gluten didn't happen, I think that it's because I ate so much fruit every day it balanced out. So that was nice.

I think I had the balance about perfect. Yes, I had some joint pain, but it wasn't debilitating by any shot. 

And if it turns out I can add back in nightshades it opens up a whole new avenue of fluffy gluten free baking for me. Though I will take it slowly on the testing for that. I think it probably was a volume thing. 

Oh, and I didn't add back in alcohol. Pretty much every place had a great nonalcoholic choice. I want a fun drink. Something sweet and fruity, possibly frozen, I don't need it to be boozy.

I think I found a fairly good balance. I didn't feel like I was depriving myself but I also didn't eat so many things that my system isn't a fan of that I felt awful. 

Yay!