Sweet tooth takes over!

My stomach is back to normal. It was back to normal very quickly. I'm still mystified. Now I am super leery about eating foods that could contain gluten. Will I have the same reaction next time? Was it a fluke? Was it food poisoning? Let's just hope there is never a repeat.

Moving on.

So I will be the first to admit I have a sweet tooth. On occasion it will rear it's head. "Feed me!" I dip into my candy reserves. As I have gotten older it seems to take smaller and smaller portions to satiate the beast. Usually. Sometimes I can ignore the monster. Other times it is more insistent. "FEED me!!" And into the freezer I dive for some ice cream. A couple of candies. An extra scoop of ice cream. The creature is more adamant. Then there are the days that my sweet tooth roars. "FEED ME!!!!!" Lord help me on those days. No matter what I put in my mouth it does not seem enough. Chocolate, ice cream, sweet tea, bakery goods. I need more! Today is one of those days. I am sure in a few days I will have a hormonal...visitor that will explain this intense craving, but for now there is no reasoning with the beast.

The beautiful thing is that in the (almost) year since going gluten free, I have found many safe options for feeding the cravings. On my way home from getting my hair cut (it's so cute!) I passed by the Vosges store. Yes, a store completely devoted to amazing, decadent chocolate. Amazing, decadent, expensive chocolate. Nearly all of it is gluten free! (I'm telling you, my sweet tooth is developing expensive tastes.) I sampled three "exotic candy bars" (remember my post about the Naga Bar?) One was white chocolate with kalamata olives, another with dark chocolate and Mexican peppers. The third was one I had already tried and LOVED. It is going to sound gross, but you must try it: milk chocolate, smoked salt and bacon. Heaven!

So there I was, looking all cute fresh from the salon, and surrounded by chocolate. What a blissful morning. :) By the time I walked out of there I had also tried a white chocolate-olive oil-kalamata olive truffle. Amazing. It should be for $3 a piece. The very nice (cute) boy working there gave me a free sample. Oh, and it pays to chat up the employees. He gave me a 10% "teacher" discount on my purchase of a Naga truffle and two candy bars. I have not yet tried these bars, but don't worry, I'll let you know how they taste. I anticipate more ooh-ing and ahh-ing.

Since I was in the neighborhood I also swung by Swirlz (the cupcake bakery that has GF offerings every day.) I had a coupon for a free cupcake. Which one should I get? Grasshopper mint-chocolate? Vanilla-chocolate? Cinnamon-chocolate? I asked the employee for his opinion. Mint-chocolate it was. Oh my! The cake is great, but the frosting is amazing! Light, creamy, slightly sweet. Perfect. Is my craving fulfilled? Well, it has quieted down for the moment. Although it does seem to be eyeing that Naga truffle with undue interest.

Ugh. (Warning: grossness ahead!)

School is crazy. I don't have reliable Internet at home. Yesterday I was sick.

I can't wait for October. I am done with September.

So here's the thing. Yesterday I went to our annual full-day meeting downtown. Usually this is a great day: no kids, no driving (I get to take the train), a room full of fine arts teachers and principals, and it is held at the Cultural Center. And they always provide food. Up till this year I have loved that last part. This year I could not partake. Actually, I should have risked the salad. Here's why...I went down to the local Thai restaurant. I have eaten there before. The Panang Curry is to die for. SO GOOD. Yesterday it tasted amazing. I ate way too much. About two hours after eating I started feeling icky. Damn, gluten...or so I thought. I left at the end of the meeting and started feeling worse. By the time I got off the train out by my apartment I felt horrible. I thought I was going to faint. Super queasy. Bad deal. I had to nearly push a guy out of my way on the stairs so I could get to the top and not risk passing out on the stairs. I got through the turnstiles and that was it. My lunch made a reappearance. Ew. The only times I have puked in the past 15-20 years have been due to reactions to anesthesia. This was not cool. Very embarrassing! People just stood and stared. Anyhoo, the reason I am sharing this is that I have a question. This could definitely be food poisoning. My body made sure there was not a single bit of lunch in my belly. I felt a bit queasy and shaky afterwards, but 100 times better. I was even able to eat a light meal last night. Today I am fine. I would have thought there would be lingering effects with food poisoning. As for gluten, I have never reacted this way. My symptoms are rather mild by comparison to other Celiacs. Have you ever (after going GF) had symptoms that were exponentially worse? Could it be the amount of gluten consumed? I normally just bloat and feel some heartburn and such. This was WAY worse. Any input?

Choclolagasm

OH. MY. GOD.

That is all I can really say. Seriously. OK, I am a typical girl. I love chocolate in nearly every form (although not chocolate ice cream so much.) About a week ago (during a fairly emotionally trying time) my best friend and I got together for some girl time. We ran over to Whole Foods to pick up some munchies that I could partake of. I bought many treats. Many. I finally got around to trying one of them today. Again, an emotionally draining day. (I swear my fellow teachers are worse than the students!) Anyhow, I busted into my emergency chocolate supply. OH MY GOD! Vosges Haut-Chocolate. I love it. It is one of their exotic candy bars: Naga Bar. "Sweet Indian curry powder, coconut flakes, deep milk chocolate". It is heaven. It melts on your tongue. Smooth, creamy, decadent. The chocolate itself is divine, the "exotic" ingredients put it over the top. They have a bunch of different flavors (all gluten free!) I can't wait to try more!

Now, I go eat more chocolate.