I think I have it together and then this disease checks it!
Over the weekend we went to the lake. I didn’t do all of the shopping for food for the weekend. My mother did. She is pretty savvy shopping for food. She knows how to read labels and is normally very, very good at keeping everything gluten free.
We were having nachos for lunch one day. I had gotten gluten free taco seasoning. We had gluten free retried beans from Bush’s. Sour cream, cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, salsa, and avocado were all on side for everyone to make the nachos to their taste.
The chips for the nachos were not the kind I normally buy. They were a different brand. After two or three bites, my son says, “Mom, are these chips gluten free?”. My daughter says, “Yeah mom, I can taste the gluten.” What the hell? Taste the gluten?
I did not check or even think about checking. Plain tortilla chips are normally safe right?
The chips were safe and labeled gluten free. All was good.
But this is how it happens. This is how we get glutened – by thinking we are safe when in reality the gluten can sneak up on you if you don’t think about it all the darn time.
Normally eating outside my home, I’m on alert for the gluten. Eating at restaurants or other people’s homes I have a tendency to err on the side of caution. If I’m not confident its safe, I’ll normally pass. But it never even crossed my mind that plain tortilla chips would contain gluten.
This is just a note to let you know, I can slip. It is easy to simply let our guard down. We all can make a mistake. Gluten is everywhere. Even in places you would not expect it. So, just remember to stay vigilant.
I didn’t write this to scare anyone. I just wanted everyone to know that even the most vigilant of us can slip up once in a while. Don’t beat yourself up too much if you make a mistake because we all do. Nobody is perfect!
PS – Purposefully eating gluten is something else entirely and don’t ever do that. But an honest mistake is easy to make.